Additional Awareness Needed to Combat SCN

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the most devastating pest in U.S. soybeans, causing up to $1.5 billion in damages annually. It’s a silent yield robber that damages soybeans at the roots. To make matters worse, effects of the nematode often go unnoticed, and symptoms are commonly misdiagnosed as other early-season diseases. That could explain why, according to a recent survey of more than 1,000 growers across the U.S., a majority doesn’t consider SCN a serious yield-limiting factor.

Soil sampling is an important tool in helping soybean growers determine the presence and severity of SCN in their fields. But of the growers surveyed, more than half acknowledged they know little about sampling their soil for SCN. Sampling can also serve as a benchmark to see if current management strategies are working. Research shows SCN-resistant varieties have been losing their efficacy, so adding a nematicide like Clariva^® Complete Beans seed treatment, a combination of separately registered products, is recommended.

To increase knowledge about SCN, Syngenta recently sponsored the SCN Awareness and Education Meeting, where a broad group of university nematologists, researchers and representatives from the soybean community discussed the current state of SCN in the U.S., the level of grower awareness and the ongoing research into evolving management strategies. The survey was a focal point.

“The survey confirms that we, in the soybean community, need to work as a team to combat the growing problem of SCN,” says Palle Pedersen, Ph.D., Seedcare product marketing head at Syngenta, who helped lead the discussion at the meeting. “Growers need to be better informed about issues affecting their soybean fields, and we need to provide more tools to counteract those challenges, if soybean will be grown as a profitable crop in the U.S. in the future.”